West Coast Highway

A 43-year-old San Luis Obispo man was killed while riding his bicycle on West Coast Highway near Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian, authorities said Saturday. David Hulbert, who was not wearing a helmet, was riding north through West Coast Highway where it intersects at Hoag Drive at about 9 p.m. Friday when he was struck by a westbound 2006 Mercedes Benz E500. Hulbert was pronounced dead at the scene. Hulbert had a BB gun, which looked like a real gun, in his waistband, police said.

The Orange County Sanitation District will begin replacing underground sewer valves along West Coast Highway between Newport and Dover avenues this week. The project is expected to last three to four weeks and could cause traffic delays. The construction work will take place at night so it doesn’t impact sewer services and to minimize disruptions to traffic. Traffic lanes will be reduced from Newport Avenue to west of Dover Avenue and left-hand turns into and from driveways will be restricted.

Two upcoming construction projects on West Coast Highway in Newport Beach are expected to cause traffic delays. The first project, starting Tuesday and continuing through Friday, will close some traffic lanes on the highway around Tustin Avenue so workers can lay conduit for Southern California Edison and AT&T. Work on the project will be done from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily and might include some night sessions, according to the public works department. A longer-term resurfacing project will begin the following week, with work being done from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. weekdays.

Hollywood director and producer Joseph McGinty Nichol, better known as McG, made an international star out of The Arches location while he was executive producer of Fox’s super popular and recently canceled “The OC.” But now his stake in the location has been ramped up. The filmmaker and Newport Beach native has signed a 10-year lease to take over The Arches location on West Coast Highway, The Arches owner Dan Marcheano said....

The Newport Beach City Council on Tuesday night will consider approving an agreement to build an access road for Sunset Ridge Park in West Newport that will run through Banning Ranch. Conservationists who want to preserve Banning Ranch, a large parcel of undeveloped, coastal land that abuts West Coast Highway, say that even if paved with good intentions, building the road would be the first step toward developing the area. “If you can put a man on the moon, Newport Beach can come up with a plan for Sunset Ridge Park that does not involve a road through Banning Ranch,” said Terry Welsh, leader of the Banning Ranch Conservancy, a nonprofit that wants to preserve Banning Ranch.

Mariner's Mile could be the next hot spot to buy a condo. If the city of Newport Beach's proposed zoning ordinance is passed, then the long-troubled commercial corridor on West Coast Highway could have condominiums and apartments above ground-floor shops and restaurants. City officials hope the move will attract investment to the area and inject life into some older office and retail buildings that have remained vacant for years. "There's a lot of commercial property there, but not enough demand," said David Lepo, the city's planning director.

Three people were killed and one critically injured in a 10-car crash at Riverside Avenue and West Coast Highway in Newport Beach on Saturday afternoon, police said. Traffic investigators were expected to work through the night piecing together what started the crash at about 2:43 p.m. The scene stretched hundreds of feet across West Coast Highway, with glass and pieces of the cars strewn across the asphalt. Police closed the street between Newport Boulevard and Tustin Avenue. Officials had not identified the dead as of Saturday night, pending notification of next of kin. No children were among the dead or injured.

City officials are shaking up the Newport Beach Aviation Committee and other citizens groups with long-standing community members. Beginning at its regular meeting Tuesday, City Council members will begin replacing appointees, some of whom have served for more than 10 years. The Aviation and Special Events Advisory committees and other such groups advise the council on specialized issues. Officials apparently established some of them without specifying terms for members, or made terms indefinite.

However famous the Balboa Bay Club may be, visitors are apparently having trouble finding it. No matter that the club has been operating in its same location since 1948, or that a guard shack thought to be intimidating was recently removed to make the entry feel more inviting. The Balboa Bay Resort - the public side of the club - continually gets calls from people who can't figure out where to turn, concierge Patrick Hynes told City Council members during their meeting Tuesday.

A passenger hit a bus driver on the head after being asked to get off the bus, authorities said Monday morning. Adam J. Stone, 27, boarded the Orange County Transportation Authority bus near West Coast Highway and Superior Avenue in Newport Beach at 6:14 p.m. Sunday, but his pass was expired, said Orange County Sheriff's Lt. Gary Strachan. When the driver asked him to step off the bus, Stone hit the driver with the blunt end of a knife and fled, Strachan said. He added that sheriff's deputies arrested Stone with the help of a Huntington Beach police helicopter and Newport Beach police officers.

From pocket parks to 13.5-acre recreation spaces, new outdoor areas are being planned in Newport Beach. City administrators praised existing facilities and outlined plans for further construction at a public Speak Up Newport event Wednesday night in the Civic Center community room. Groundbreaking for bigger projects like Sunset Ridge Park on West Coast Highway at Superior Avenue and Marina Park between 15th and 18th streets on Balboa Boulevard mark the start to two major parks that have been years in the making, said Public Works Director Dave Webb.

The neon sign pointing drivers to DivBar from West Coast Highway was on at about 4:30 p.m. Monday, but a chain blocked the driveway. Cars were parked in the small parking lot. A massive banner that read "Closed for Major Renovations" hung in front of the bar's entrance. Inside the restaurant, at 2601 West Coast Highway, an employee who declined to identify himself, confirmed that the tavern is shutting down for "major renovations. " The space appeared largely unstaffed, but the lights were on and music played softly over the sound system.

A male motorcyclist was killed early Saturday morning when he struck the center divider on West Coast Highway in Newport Beach, officials said. The crash, reported at 2:41 a.m., occurred west of Superior Avenue, police said. Ammar Sherbini, 31, of Santa Ana, was pronounced dead at the scene, according to the Orange County Coroner's officer. A news photographer on the scene told City News Service the rider had been thrown into a palm tree in the center divider and the bike had ended up several hundred feet from the point of impact.

COSTA MESA Richmond Way: A family fight was reported in the 2400 block at 2:35 a.m. Wednesday. Santa Clara Circle: A warrant arrest was reported in the 3400 block at 4:44 a.m. Wednesday. Bernard Street: A warrant arrest was reported in the 500 block at 7:27 a.m. Wednesday. Dale Way and Harbor Boulevard: A drunk driver was reported at 9:15 a.m. Wednesday. Peterson Place: A stolen vehicle was reported in the 2700 block at 10:43 a.m. Wednesday. Iowa Street: Identity theft was reported in the 3200 block at 11:06 a.m. Wednesday.

The single-story ranch house at the end of Irvine Avenue offers a commanding view from its perch above West Coast Highway. The bay, Duffy boats and an enviable slice of coastline are visible from the 3,166-square-foot home built in 1965 at 2201 Cliff Drive. Few things set the 4-bedroom, 3-bathroom house apart from the rest of the quiet Newport Heights neighborhood. Except, that is, for the hole in the front, caused by a suspected drunk driver who came crashing through the garage Sunday night.

A man drove a Shelby Cobra about 25 feet up a hill and into a drainage ditch in Newport Beach on Wednesday morning, authorities said. About 10 a.m. Newport Beach firefighters received a call that near West Coast Highway and Superior Avenue a man drove up an embankment and landed the Mustang half in the ditch, according to Newport Beach Fire Capt. Todd Knipp. Once the driver's half was in the ditch, the hot rod traveled about 200 feet westbound toward Huntington Beach before coming to a stop, Knipp said.